Shellfish

Examples of shellfish-prawns, oysters, mussels, crab and lobster.

MATCH DRY, CRISP WHITE WINE TO SHELLFISH

Dry, white but crisp wines are best with shellfish e.g. Riesling, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, unoaked Chardonnay ( e.g. Chablis).

Oysters are, however, a battle when it comes to a wine match. Oysters are generally 3 years old or more when they end up on your plate, so are inherently complex in themselves. They can vary greatly in flavour and are high in salt and acid. I’ve even known someone to be served an oyster the size of a plate and it tasted meatlike and fleshy?! Knife and fork job! So, what on earth can stand up to this dish you say? Well, avoid expensive, complex wines as these would be lost, but plump for powerful dry whites e.g. Sauvignon Blanc (Sancerre is a good match) or unoaked Chardonnay, like Chablis. Or a %%%non-vintage%%% Champagne is best. This is a much better match than a vintage Champagne, which would be complex and luxurious, but again be wasted on the pungent flavours and complexities. Champagne and oysters is a classic match made in heaven and now you can see why!

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